Bound by Desire 18+

7.I..am..

Shivya's POV

One fucking week. That's how long she's been ignoring me. No smiles, no glances, not even her presence in our room. She's taken to the guest room, cooking nothing, talking to no one. I thought I could handle it, thought living without her would be easy. But in just one week, she's brought me to my knees.

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to go home before I lost my mind. The moment I stepped through the door, the house felt different—cold, empty. A servant handed me water, and I asked her to call Vedanti. But she said, "Madam has gone to work."

Work? What work? Does she have a job? How the hell didn't I know this?

"Of course, you don't know," my inner voice mocked. "You never asked, never cared enough to know."

But I care now. I silenced that voice, pulled out my phone, and checked her location. Yes, I installed a tracking device on her phone. I have too many enemies—some outsiders, some within my own walls. I wasn't going to let anyone harm my wife.

Her location led me to an NGO. I googled it on the way. "Run and managed by Vedanti Shivya Rathod." My heart swelled with pride. She's something else, isn't she?

As I arrived, I noticed three buildings: childcare, mental health, and old age care. Her location was behind the mental health building. What the hell is she doing there?

I rounded the corner, and my heart nearly stopped. My innocent wife—the one I thought couldn't hurt a fly—was kicking a man where the sun would never rise. As he crumbled to the ground, she grabbed his collar and demanded in a voice I barely recognized, "Who asked you to send those photos to me?"

The man, terrified and stammering, finally managed to get out, "Piya madam... Piya madam told me."

Sam, who was standing nearby, looked stricken. "I'm so sorry, Vedanti. I'll talk to my sister."

But Vedanti wasn't having it. "No, Sam. I want to meet her myself and ask her personally."

"Vedanti—" Sam started, but I stepped in.

"My wife gets what she wants, Sam. Call Piya here. Now."

Both of them turned to me, wide-eyed. Vedanti rolled her eyes, the guy long gone, and walked away, frustration radiating off her. Sam hurried off to make the call, and I followed Vedanti.

I caught up to her, grabbing her arm gently. "Vedanti, we need to talk."

She yanked her arm away, her eyes blazing. "Talk? Now you want to talk? Where was this concern a week ago, Shivya?"

I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my voice calm. "A week ago, I thought I could handle being without you. I was wrong."

Her eyes softened for just a moment before the walls went back up. "It's too late for that, Shivya. You've made it clear where I stand in your life."

I stepped closer, my hand sliding around her waist, pulling her against me. "You stand right here, Vedanti. With me. Always."

She looked up at me, our faces inches apart, the anger in her eyes slowly giving way to something else—something darker, more dangerous. "Then why don't I feel like I belong to you?"

The tension between us crackled like electricity. I could feel the heat of her body, the way her breath quickened as I leaned down, my lips hovering just above hers. "You do belong to me, Vedanti. In every way that matters."

But instead of kissing her, I pulled back, leaving her breathless and wanting more. "But first, we deal with Piya."

Vedanti's eyes flashed with something akin to both anger and longing. She hated when I did this—left her teetering on the edge of desire, only to pull back. But I needed her to know that I wasn't going to let this go. Not her, not us, and certainly not this situation with Piya.